Randomized trial of preschool math professional development program

By Susan Davis, Johns Hopkins University

Maths Champions, developed by England’s National Nurseries Association, is a program that provides online professional development to pre-school staff in order to improve preschoolers’ early math knowledge. Math Champions is delivered online to one main staff member (the “Maths Champion”), who then creates and implements an action plan for the center and trains the rest of the staff. The Maths Champion is offered support online that includes one-to-one advice, early math resources, and e-courses regarding math development.    

A randomized control trial of Maths Champions was funded by the Education Endowment Foundation and Department of Education in England to follow up a previous trial finding that Maths Champions students made two months’ more growth than untreated control students. This previous study was flawed because not all students were post-tested. The current study evaluated Maths Champions in more settings, and aimed to increase the validity of the findings. Subjects were 1304 preschool students (n=638 E, 666 C) in 134 centers, both private and school-based, across England. Centers were randomly assigned to either receive Maths Champions or to proceed with business-as-usual.

Students were pre- and post-tested using the ASPECTS math assessment. After seven months, students in the Maths Champions program made an average of three months’ more gains than untreated control students. In addition, children from disadvantaged backgrounds made an average of six months’ more progress than untreated controls.